Dangal (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – Biographical sports drama on former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his two wrestler daughters’ struggle towards glory at the Commonwealth Games in the face of societal oppression.

My Take – Over the years, a film starring Aamir Khan has gained a status of being an event, mainly as there are only a handful of artists in India who are so picky & committed to delivering as Aamir Khan, whose efforts are so sincere that you end up forgoing the film’s multiple flaws. This wrestling based biopic on the Phogat Sisters, the elder one, Geeta who made history by being the first Indian female wrestler to win the Gold medal (55kg) and the younger Babita won Silver medal (51 Kg) in 2010 Commonwealth games and their father Mahavir Singh Phogat who trained them, is no different. While off late, Bollywood have witnessed many sports films in the form of Chake De India, Bhag Milkha Bhag, Mary Kom, Saala Khadoos, M.S. Dhoni & some others, very few have been so focused on the sport as this one. If you are going to avoid this film by comparing it with Sultan with a prejudice mind, I must say you are terribly mistaken. While the Salman Khan starrer Sultan was a mere entertainment this film is a class apart as Aamir Khan knows his game far better & wouldn’t just repeat himself, forget repeating another actor. This film works as a classic sports film with an eye for detail and a good measure of technique thrown into the poignant emotional drama about a stubborn father who lives his lifelong dream, and his daughters. There are sermons about gender balance, a generous dose of patriotism but what really drives this film is wrestling. Orchestrated in a real set up, the film is rustic and robust, unleashing the infallible energies of two unbeatable girls who train to pummel hard enough to earn dignity in another sport besides the ever engaging cricket. It is even more difficult for women, more so if they belong to a more patriarchal pocket of the country. Aamir Khan chooses a worthy story of a father who makes a difference to the thinking of his small town. I agree, this film is far from being flawless, mainly as it has a well-known, off-repeated story and its technique and template are both similar to every other sports film, but where it fares phenomenally is the meticulously attention to perfection – as expected from Aamir Khan, and the film scores on almost every aspect be it detailing, storytelling, entertainment value, drama or humor. The story follows Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan), a home-grown National-level wrestling champion who had to leave wrestling to get a proper job. Keeping his passion & love for the sport alive by enjoying the local matches or just by feeling nostalgic by looking at the medals and certificates he had won, Mahavir hopes to see his unborn son fulfill his tarnish dreams of making India proud by winning gold at an international level. Blame it on his X chromosomes, but he and his wife Daya Shobha Kaur (Sakshi Tanwar) give birth to not one, not two, but four daughters, much to Mahavir’s disappointment. He surprisingly stops trying for a fifth child and packs up his dreams. However, as the kids grow up and show signs of aggressiveness, he realizes that even though their gender orientation is different from his, they may be good contenders for the game of wrestling.

Convinced that his two eldest daughters, young Geeta (Zaira Wasim) and Babita (Suhani Bhatnagar), may help him take his passion forward, he begins training them – pure street level-style. Following Mahavir’s strict native coaching as the girls grow up (Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra) and try to climb the ladder, albeit while facing a series of stereotypes, hurdles, and rampant demoralization from the society, just to fulfill their father’s long awaited dream. Five minutes is all it will take you to get hooked into the otherwise long film (at 161 stimulating minutes). Delightful sequences that will lie out what is to be expected as you move forward with Mahavir and his daughters’ story. Director Nitesh Tiwari (Bhoothnath Returns, Chillar Party)dedicates the entire first half to the little girls, reeling under the pressure of their over ambitious father’s expectations of them. They wobble, fall but never have the heart to give up. They eventually rise to the occasion and prove their mettle and merit. While the story is impressive, the best part is the details that doesn’t restrict itself to Mahavir Singh Phogat’s dream but goes beyond to touch issues around the social exploitation of women, gender based discrimination, the mentality of treating girl child as a baggage, the male-child mania, the state of sports infrastructure in India, the importance of a right coach for a sportsperson and even religious harmony. However, it also depicts something wrong in the Indian society which is the obsession of Indian parents’ using their children to fulfill their dreams. The male gaze also makes an appearance here as Mahavir gives zero care to the world and moves ahead with his talented daughters in an attempt to shift mountains. How a father does what he does, regardless of his approach, but still thinks of his girls’ upbringing and a bright future is what the film essentially talks about. It tries to smash and subdue the voices that sway in the air about inequality, and oppression of women and their rights. As far as the narrative is concerned, it’s a triumph, because it sheds light on both sides of the coin. Mahavir’s wife is worried about her daughters’ food-making skills, but she is cajoled that people are not living in caves anymore. The film tightly slaps on the conventional thinking of society that the women are only intended to live to look after their family and should stay back behind the curtain for specific reasons and the Man Mahavir Singh was there to thrash all those concepts and in the end we could feel the satisfaction he might have had in the real life. That predominantly male bastion extends not only to the contact sport in question, but also to Haryana where this true story is set; a culture so steeped in patriarchy that neighbors volunteer helpful tips towards producing a male heir to parents who’ve birthed multiple daughters. Like I said before the film had many thrilling moments to make you bite your nails. It made my eyes wet at times, It even made me proud when the national anthem sounded in, knowing the facts that it’s just a film. The good thing was the makers did not use their cinematic freedom to exaggerate the things and whatever we saw on the big screen were quite convincing within their limitation of detailing a real life event. Director Nitesh Tiwari focuses more on the relationship between the Mahavir Phogat and Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat. Unlike the Salman Khan film, the wrestling drama is an emotional journey of a father teaching his daughters about the wrestling sports rather than full-fledged romantic action film. The film opens well with Aamir Khan wrestling with his colleague at office. The subsequent scenes where he teaches his daughters the art of wrestling is brilliantly portrayed. The wrestling arena scene where the young Geeta fights with a boy for the first time is eye-popping. Kudos to Nitesh Tiwari for keeping us engaged at this time. The second half tells how Geeta Phogat joining the NSA (National Sports Academy) but in spite of having a wrestling coach, gets trained under her father to win the gold medal at the Common Wealth Games 2010.

The wrestling scenes are probably the best scenes you will witness on the silver screen. The semi-final and the final match for gold is the highlight of the film. Thanks to wonderful screenplay written by Piyush Gupta, Shreyas Jain, Nikhil Mehrotra and Nitesh Tiwari, the film will keep you on your toes right from the beginning till the end. As a character, Mahavir is in equal parts determined and unmistakably selfish, practically robbing the girls of their childhood, denying them normal pleasures in his obsession with discipline and his quest for excellence. It’s a tricky area to explore and a braver film might have gone down that road, but given that this is practically a biopic, the script steers clear of raising uncomfortable questions. What we get is one line, late in the film, where Mahavir acknowledges that the only fault of his daughters is that their father is a madman. The rigorous training the girls are put through, the sniggering from a chauvinistic society, the clashes with sports authorities, and the thrilling, nail-biting bouts all ring true without a hint of artifice. There are layers too, if you seek them. One of the best bits in the film is a scene in which Mahavir and Geeta wrestle. On the face of it, it’s just that – father vs. daughter. But simmering beneath the surface is so much more. It’s these layers, tucked away but easily sought, that separate the film from your standard sports film. The script digs deep to give us genuinely affecting moments like Geeta’s discovery of her own feminity, and her first brush with boys outside the mud ground, not to mention her sheer amazement over the effect a romantic Hindi film can have on a hostel full of girls. As mentioned before, like most sports film this one is also marred by clichés. It’s impossible to evade the conventional trappings of the genre and this film has its fair share of those, but the biggest thing is that it knows when to stop, and that’s what makes it a stadium like live experience. As expected, Aamir Khan justifies his role, and makes it obvious why he is showered with certain adjectives and nouns. He is so outstanding in his performance that this could be considered as one of his best works ever. Aamir has trained for 8-10 months for wrestling and went through a huge transformation from being fit to fat for 90% portion of the film and then trained for 5 months to go from fat to fit to work on the initial portion of the film that is only for 5-7 minutes in duration. He really gets into the skin of the character like never before. We all know what this man is capable of and must say that he deserves the credit for portraying such a role which eventually concentrates on the female characters as the film progresses. That shows how passionate he is about this art called cinema. His transformation from the macho man to old age fat man was absolutely magical but the same time his eyes had the same intensity all the way long. Sakshi Tanwar plays a very noticeable role with multiple projections of an apologetic wife in the beginning that turns into a strong homemaker and a mother who tries every bit to draw line when her husband’s obsession becomes a nightmare for her kids, especially with a fragile relationship of her husband and her eldest daughter. Young Debutants Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar as the young Geeta and Babitha were absolutely flawless and charming, while Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra also gave in outstanding award winning performances. Ritwik Sahore as the younger Omkar and Aparshakti Khurana as the older Omkar are excellent. On the whole, ‘Dangal’ is a powerful, inspirational, brilliant, all heart and entertaining sports drama that is without a doubt the best film of 2016. Like always, Aamir saves the best for last!